Committee Report

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Calendar No. 415
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-249
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NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES COMMEMORATIVE WORK ACT
_______
May 16, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1692]
[Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1692) to authorize the National Emergency
Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its
environs, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1692 is to authorize the National
Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation (Foundation) to
establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and
its environs.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers respond to
approximately 37 million emergency calls annually across the
United States. These professionals are first responders in all
types of emergency situations, ranging from medical
emergencies, to natural disasters, to fires, and acts of
terrorism. According to the Department of Labor and the
National Highway Safety Administration, EMS providers die in
the line of duty at a rate more than twice the national average
for all occupational fatalities. Over 650 men and women who
served have made the ultimate sacrifice while performing their
duties, which have occurred in every state across the country.
S. 1692 authorizes the Foundation to establish a
commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia
and its environs to commemorate the sacrifice and commitment of
the EMS first responders. The project must be planned and
constructed with non-federal funds and in accordance with the
Commemorative Works Act.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1692 was introduced by Senators Coons, Capito, Cotton,
Cassidy, Shaheen, and Warren on August 1, 2017. The Senate
Subcommittee on National Parks conducted a hearing on S. 1692
on February 14, 2018. Similar language is also included in
section 7126 of S. 1460, the Energy and Natural Resources Act
of 2017 (Cal. 162).
A companion measure, H.R. 1037, was introduced by Rep.
Lynch in the House of Representatives on February 14, 2017, and
referred to the Natural Resources Committee.
In the 114th Congress, Senator Coons introduced similar
legislation, S. 2628, on March 3, 2016. On March 17, 2016, the
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 2628.
Similar legislation, H.R. 2274, was introduced in the House of
Representatives by Rep. Lynch on May 12, 2015, and referred to
the Natural Resources Committee.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 8, 2018, and ordered S. 1692
favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 8, 2018, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
1692.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 contains the short title.
Section 2. Findings
Section 2 contains Congressional findings.
Section 3. Authorization to establish commemorative work by the
National Emergency Medical Services Foundation
Section 3(a) authorizes the Foundation to establish a
commemorative work on Federal land in the District of Columbia
and its environs to commemorate the commitment and service
represented by EMS.
Subsection (b) requires the establishment of the
commemorative work to be in compliance with the Commemorative
Works Act (40 U.S.C. Chapter 89).
Subsection (c) requires the Foundation to be solely
responsible for the acceptance of contributions for, and
payment of the expenses of, the commemorative work
establishment. This subsection also prohibits the use of
Federal funds to pay for any establishment-related expense.
Subsection (d) requires the Foundation to transmit any
remaining balance of funds received for the establishment of
the commemorative work to the Secretary of the Interior for
deposit into an account with the National Park Foundation (40
U.S.C. 8906(b)(3)), after all payments for the expenses of the
establishment of the commemorative work, including those
required for maintenance and preservation of the work, have
been made. If following the expiration of the authority for the
commemorative work there remains a balance of funds received
for the establishment of the work, this subsection further
directs the Foundation to transmit the balance amount to a
separate account with the National Park Foundation for
memorials, to be available to the Secretary or Administrator of
the General Services, as appropriate, for the maintenance of
the commemorative work.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: S. 1692 would
authorize the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial
Foundation (a nonprofit organization) to establish a memorial
in or near the District of Columbia to commemorate the
commitment and service of first responders in medical
emergencies.
Because S. 1692 would prohibit the use of federal funds to
establish the memorial, CBO estimates that implementing the
bill would have no effect on spending subject to appropriation.
The project would be subject to the requirements of the
Commemorative Works Act. That act directs any entity that
receives a permit to construct a memorial to donate to the
National Park Foundation (a nonprofit organization whose
subsequent donations to the National Park Service are recorded
on the budget) an amount equal to 10 percent of the memorial's
estimated construction costs. That donation and any project
funds remaining after construction would be available for
maintenance of the memorial without the need for
appropriations.
Based on the experience of similar commemorative projects,
CBO expects that any amounts collected by the federal
government for maintenance of the memorial would not be
received for several years and would be offset by an
expenditure soon thereafter. Thus, on net, CBO estimates that
the effect on direct spending would be insignificant.
Because enacting S. 1692 would affect direct spending, pay-
as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect
revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1692 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 1692 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S.1692. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S.1692, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1692, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at
the February 14, 2018, hearing on S. 1692 follows:
Statement of P. Daniel Smith, Deputy Director, Exercising the Authority
of the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior, Before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee
on National Parks, Concerning S. 1692, a Bill To Authorize the National
Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation To Establish a
Commemorative Work in the District of Columbia and Its Environs, and
for Other Purposes
The Department supports S. 1692. The memorial authorized by
this legislation would commemorate the commitment and service
of the Emergency Medical Services profession. S. 1692 prohibits
federal funds from being used to establish the memorial.
The Commemorative Works Act (CWA), 40 U.S.C. Chapter 89,
precludes establishing a memorial to members of the Emergency
Medical Services profession as a group because the
memorialization of members of a group may not be authorized
until after the 25th anniversary of the death of the last
surviving member. Therefore, our support for this proposal is
based upon our understanding that this memorial will recognize
the ``commitment and service'' of the Emergency Medical
Services profession, not the organization's members.
A memorial to honor the commitment and service of a
profession is not a concept that is explicitly described in the
CWA, and it does not fit the typical mold for commemoration
under the CWA. However, there is a precedent for this type of
memorial: the National Peace Corps Memorial, which Congress
authorized in 2014. That memorial was authorized not to
commemorate Peace Corps participants explicitly, which would be
inconsistent with the CWA, but rather to commemorate the
``mission of the Peace Corps and the ideals on which the Peace
Corps was founded.''
At the September 14, 2015, meeting of the National Capital
Memorial Advisory Commission, the Commission reviewed H.R.
2274, a bill nearly identical to S. 1692. It was the consensus
of the Commission that the language was clear that the memorial
authorized by the bill would not commemorate individuals or a
group of individuals, and therefore was not inconsistent with
the CWA. We agree with the Commission's interpretation.
Finally, we note that S. 1692 provides that unspent funds
raised for the construction of the memorial be provided to the
National Park Foundation for deposit in an interest-bearing
account as stated in 40 U.S.C. Section 8906(b)(3). This is a
provision we strongly support including in all legislation
authorizing memorials under the CWA.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of Rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered
reported.